"The moratorium is essentially a copout," Brecher told the town council Tuesday. "It sends a terrible negative message to the development community that we're not open for business."

The zoning board is contemplating the moratorium because of fears that the two new CTfastrak stations in town will be magnets for high-density, low-income housing.

But Brecher and several councilmen said that there is virtually no chance that would occur.

"You can put me on a lie detector test," Brecher said. "Not one developer has come to me and said 'I want to build high-density, low-income housing in Newington.' "

Instead, Brecher gave a lengthy presentation arguing that high-density, high-income housing is the best way to expand the town's tax base. There are "a lot of developers" who want to build such housing near the Fenn Road and Newington Junction busway stations and downtown, he said.

"We have had high-density, high-income housing in this town for a long time," Brecher said. "It has served us well but we need to be smarter in the future . . . so it doesn't burden the town."

In order to grow the town's tax base, the town needs to attract wealthier residents -- preferably in the top 2 percent income bracket -- without kids, Brecher said. Such people increasingly want to live in luxury condominiums or apartments that would generate significant new taxes, but require few services, he said.

"Newington would do well to discourage low-income, high-density housing," Brecher said. "It would do well to encourage high-income, high-density housing."

Mayor Stephen Woods made an impassioned plea to spur economic development, warning that a stagnant tax base and frozen state aid threaten to create a crisis. Without attracting more business, taxpayers face ever higher taxes or service cuts, he warned.

"If we don't find a way to grow our economy, something is going to implode," Woods said. "We're going to have to find some way to adjust to this new reality, or we're going to be in trouble."

Woods said he favored as broad an approach as possible.

"It's got to be balanced," he said. "We need a little bit of everything."

Despite assurances from Brecher and other councilmen, Councilwoman Maureen Klett and some members of the public remained worried about the building of high-density, low-income housing. They cited what they said were comments at Monday public event by state Rep. Gary Byron, R-Newington, that new low-income housing near the busway stations was "a done deal."

But Byron, reached for comment Wednesday, said he had not made that statement. Instead, he said that he said high-income, high-density housing was likely.

Byron said he checked rumors he had heard from constituents about low-income housing with Town Manager John Salomone, who told him they were untrue.

Brecher said that town is pursuing other ways to expand the tax base, such as industrial or retail, but they have limited potential. New or expanded factories, for example, offer no tax benefit because the state has exempted them from local property taxes, he said.